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Saskatchewan
Access to Information Legislation
The Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) is an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. The Information and Privacy Commissioner reports to the Assembly and is independent of the government of the day. The OIPC oversees three different statutes:
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The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP), in force since 1992
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The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP), in force since 1993
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The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA), in force since 2003
FOIP and LA FOIP work together so that public bodies such as government ministries, crown corporations, municipalities, regional health authorities, schools, universities and colleges are accountable by making public information accessible to the public and by requiring those bodies to protect personal information in its possession or control.
HIPA sets out the rights of individuals and the responsibilities of health information trustees such as physicians, pharmacies, nurses, dentists and other health care providers with respect to personal health information in their custody or control.
How to Access Your Information
You can ask for access to most information held by public bodies with a phone call. Contacting the body concerned usually gets you the help or referral you need. You can call the Ministry of Justice’s Access and Privacy Branch at 306-787-5473 if you are unsure of who to contact to request your information.
If informal attempts are unsuccessful, you may make a formal access request by filling out and submitting an
Access to Information Request Form
to the appropriate body. Within 30 days, or in limited circumstances 60 days, the body must inform you if it is granting access, or, if denying access, under what legal authority they have done so. To access information from health trustees, formal requests only need be made in writing.
If you are dissatisfied with the response of the government institution, local authority or health information trustee in question, you can apply to the OIPC for a review of the decision. To initiate a review, you need to provide our office with a completed
Request for Review Form
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The OIPC will determine if there are grounds to initiate a review and to determine if legal exemptions applied are improper or not. The review process may lead to a mediated resolution. If not, the Commissioner may issue a report offering recommendations from the OIPC and post to our website.
A more detailed outline on the access to information process in Saskatchewan can be obtained at
http://www.oipc.sk.ca/webdocs/Publicstepstoaccesshandout.pdf
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For other information and/or resources please see our website at
www.oipc.sk.ca
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